Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government why they have not proscribed the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
While the UK Government keeps the list of proscribed organisations under review, we do not routinely comment on whether an organisation is or is not being considered for proscription.
The UK Government has long been clear about our concerns over the malign activity of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The UK maintains sanctions on over 400 Iranian individuals and entities covering human rights abuses and nuclear proliferation. The Government has also imposed sanctions on the IRGC in its entirety and on several senior security and political figures in Iran, including senior commanders within the IRGC and its Basij force.
On 24 January 2024, we took coordinated action with the US and imposed sanctions on several members of the IRGC for their involvement in plots to assassinate individuals on UK soil. Following Iran’s attack against Israel on 13 April, the UK has sanctioned a number of individuals and companies with links to Iran’s UAV and missile industries, as well as leading Iranian military figures and entities that have enabled Iran’s destabilising regional activity.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of dual allegiance among British citizens who are current or former Hong Kong government officials who hold dual citizenship under the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1990; and the implications of this for (1) transnational crime, and (2) intimidation of Hong Kong democrats and their families who have fled Hong Kong.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We do not comment on the detail of security or intelligence matters, however we continually assess potential threats to the UK public, including transnational crime and threats to individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety. Any attempt by any foreign power, or any individuals acting on their behalf, to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK will not be tolerated.
Where we identify individuals at heightened risk, we are front footed in deploying protective the full range of tools available to protect them.
The National Security Act 2023 brings together vital new measures to protect our national security and ensure our law enforcement and intelligence agencies have everything they need to respond to the full range of modern-day state threats including those that may emanate from Hong Kong and China.
More broadly, Home Office officials work closely with the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and DLUHC, as well as other government departments, to ensure that the UK is a safe and welcoming place for both those who hold BN(O) status and other Hongkongers.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to examine the efficacy of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 in dealing with hostile elements in the United Kingdom who owe political allegiance to the People’s Republic of China and pose a risk to those who have fled Hong Kong; and whether they will consider strengthening the legislation to address these concerns.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Any attempt by any foreign power to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK will not be tolerated. Where we identify activity that threatens individual's rights, freedoms, and safety we are front footed in deploying all the tools available to us including, where appropriate immigration action, to mitigate this.
As you would expect we keep our legislative framework under constant review and update it where appropriate based on the latest information and intelligence.
The National Security Act 2023 brings together vital new measures to protect our national security and ensure our law enforcement and intelligence agencies have everything they need to respond to the full range of modern-day state threats, including those that may emanate from Hong Kong and China.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what (a) meetings and (b) other discussions he has had with the Mayor of London on knife crime in the last 12 months.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Secretary and Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire regularly meet with the Mayor of London and Police and Crime Commissioners to discuss crime and policing matters.
Since 2019, the Home Office has provided over £43m of funding for a Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) in London which is providing a multi-agency, preventative response designed to tackle the drivers of serious violence and knife crime in London. In addition, c.£8.1m has been awarded in 2024/25 to deliver the ‘Hotspot Response’ programme and enable additional, high visibility patrols and problem-solving tactics in the areas worst affected by serious violence and ASB.
Additionally, just under £1.3m has been awarded in 2023/24 to support delivery of the Serious Violence Duty in London.
Following a surrender scheme, the manufacture, supply, sale and possession of zombie-style knives and machetes that are designed to look intimidating but have no practical purpose will be outlawed from 24 September 2024.
Additionally, through the Criminal Justice Bill, we are providing more powers for police to seize knives held in private that they believe will be used for unlawful violence, increasing the maximum penalty for the offences of selling prohibited weapons and selling knives to under 18s and creating a new offence of possessing an article with blade or point or an offensive weapon with intent to commit unlawful violence.
We are also providing £3.5 million into the research, development, and evaluation of new technologies to reduce knife crime, including knife detection technologies. The Metropolitan Police has been given £547,863 for further live facial recognition mobile units to be deployed across their 75 London hotspots.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people (a) began and (b) left positions within his Department's Illegal Migration Operations Command in the most recent three-month period for which data is available.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
For security reasons, the Home Office does not provide data of staff working within the Illegal Migrations of Operation Command or on its resourcing plans.
The Home Office continues to ensure appropriate staffing levels are maintained. As with all government departments, we remain committed to accessing the best talent and skills into the Civil Service while adhering to headcount caps, maximising efficiency and delivering for the public whilst retaining maximum value for the taxpayer.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many vacancies within the Illegal Migration Operations Command were advertised in the most recent three-month period for which data is available.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
For security reasons, the Home Office does not provide data of staff working within the Illegal Migrations of Operation Command or on its resourcing plans.
The Home Office continues to ensure appropriate staffing levels are maintained. As with all government departments, we remain committed to accessing the best talent and skills into the Civil Service while adhering to headcount caps, maximising efficiency and delivering for the public whilst retaining maximum value for the taxpayer.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average wait time is between (a) arrest and charge and (b) charge and trial for robbery cases in (i) London, (ii) the rest of England and (iii) Slough.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has developed a Criminal Justice Dashboard (CJS) Dashboard to bring together data from across the CJS starting at the point at which a crime is recorded by the police, through to completion in the Crown Court. The Dashboard aims to increase transparency, support collaboration and drive improvement at a local level.
The dashboard publishes information on the median number of days taken, from a crime being recorded, to reach an investigative outcome, including charges, for offences recorded by the police in England and Wales. These can be broken down by Police Force Area, and by ‘Victim based crime’, ‘State based Crime’ and ‘adult rape offences’. The latest data can be accessed via the Criminal Justice Dashboard, available here:
The Home Office does not hold information on the time between an arrest and a charge, or on the time between a charge and a trial. However, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) holds information on the average number of days taken from charge to main hearing for rape, fraud, murder, burglary, robbery and drug offences at the Crown Court in i) London and ii) the rest of England. These are provided in the table. Data are not available for Slough and data for domestic abuse are not held centrally by the MoJ.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of reported burglaries have resulted in a suspect being taken to court in England and Wales in the last year, and how this compares with the rest of the United Kingdom.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of burglary offences recorded by the police in England and Wales, and their investigative outcomes, including the number of charge/summons. This information is published on a quarterly basis, and can be accessed here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables
The Home Office does not hold information on the number of suspects taken to court. Statistics on prosecutions and convictions in England and Wales, including burglary, are published by the Ministry of Justice, in the release Criminal Justice System Statistics Quarterly, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly
Scotland have a different method of counting burglary offences to England and Wales but information on crimes and offences recorded by the police, including clear ups of crimes, can be accessed here:
https://www.gov.scot/publications/recorded-crime-scotland-2022-23/
Information on crimes and offences recorded by the police in Northern Ireland, including investigative outcomes, can be accessed here:
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they made of the implications of the judgment of Mr Justice Humphreys in the High Court in Belfast on 13 May regarding the Illegal Migration Act 2023, in particular for the continuing operation of (1) Article 2 of the Windsor Framework, and (2) the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government remains firmly committed to Article 2 of the Windsor Framework which ensures no diminution of rights, safeguards and equality of opportunity protections set out in the relevant chapter of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement as a result of the UK leaving the EU.
This judgment has no operational bearing on the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024 or the implementation of the policy. Those who have been served a notice for removal to Rwanda are being considered under the Safety of Rwanda Act and existing immigration legislation.
Asked by: Lord Reid of Cardowan (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their response to the judgment of the High Court of Northern Ireland which ordered the disapplication of provisions of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government is considering the judgment carefully before deciding on next steps.
The Government has consistently made clear that the provisions in the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement referred to in the Windsor Framework were developed specifically against the background of Northern Ireland's unique circumstances. They do not concern and should not be brought into the complex legal debate concerning illegal migration. The Government will take all steps to defend that position, including through appeal.